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'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a 'wait-and-watch' stand on the construction of the Ram temple, two BJP MPs -- Ravindra Kushwaha and Hari Narayan Rajbhar -- raised the issue at its parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, December 18, 2019.
The MPs, who represent Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, said people keep asking them when the temple will be built, Press Trust of India reported quoting sources.
However, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked the MPs to be patient on the issue.
Hindutva organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, have in recent weeks intensified the demand for early construction of the temple, with many leaders, including RSS Sarsnghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, pitching for a law to enable it.
Though the BJP has agreed with the sentiments of these organisations, it has so far not come out in support of a law.
The Ram temple land dispute is currently being heard in the Supreme Court.
"Faith is above the court and government. Courts and government must not come and intervene to stop the construction of the Ram temple," Rajbhar tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
What did you say on the Ram temple at the BJP parliamentary meeting?
I want the Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya.
The case is going on in the court and the government has so far not gone ahead on this issue.
Since it is a matter of faith, I said the people of this country must come forward and build the Ram Mandir at the site of the disputed structure.
When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.
So why do we need permission to build a Ram temple now from the court or for that matter from the government as this issue is related to faith?
How can you build a temple when the matter is sub judice?
In 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished, that time too a case was going on in the Supreme Court and the high court.
Right now, at this moment, (a makeshift) Ram Mandir exists at the spot.
So I feel there is no controversy on the issue as Muslims also want a Ram Mandir.
It is my personal view.
Is it legally practical to build a temple at the disputed site?
I told you this is a matter of faith.
Faith is above the court and government.
As I told you, even in 1992 there was a court order, but the people of India went and demolished the disputed structure.
Now there is a Ram Lalla statue placed there. There is already a Ram Mandir.
This place is not a janambhoomi (birth place) of Babar, but of Lord Ram.
So, the courts and government must not come and intervene to stop the construction of a Ram temple.
In 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished there was a Congress government at the Centre. Now it is a BJP government. Why does your government not bring an ordinance and build a temple?
This is the demand (to bring an ordinance) that I have made and it is now the government's responsibility.
As a member of Parliament, I spoke on this issue within the party forum and I spoke within my rights.
I am only saying the Ram Mandir must be constructed and my party members agree with my demand.
Do you think people voted for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election for development or for a Ram Mandir?
We got the votes for vikas (development), but for a Ram Mandir too.
Right now I just want the people of India to come forward and construct a Ram temple.
Do you think the BJP lost the elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh because you could not fulfil your promise to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya?
No, that is not true.
Winning and losing elections is all about people's choice and people's mandate.
The Ram Mandir is a universal choice and everyone wants it.
The BJP is being criticised for not raising the demand for a Ram Mandir since 2014, but raising it now, just before the general election.
We have been raising the Ram Mandir issue since 1992.
It is not a new demand.
People of India want a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.